Electric switch.



G. L. HUGHES.

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 18, 1912.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

l|ul""- gmuawto a George L Hughes wi/lmeoom G. L. HUGHES.

ELECTRIC SWITGH.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 18, 1912.

1,087,238. Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

wi/tmeooo George L Hughes UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE L. IIIIG'I'IES, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB or oNa-IIALr T0 nonnnr E. coornn, or norxINsvI Ln, KENTUCKY.

nnnc'rmo swI'rcII.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 17, 1914.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, GEORGE L. HUGHES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of'Cook and State of IlllIlOfS, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Switches; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which" it appertains to make and use the to improvements in of construction, and the combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully described and claimed. v

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a plan view of my improved switch; Fig. 2 is a front view thereof; Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view through one end of the switch supporting frame; Fig. .4 is a plan view of the switch supporting and operating mechanism; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the supportin and operating means for the 'movable-mem er of the switch; Fig. 6 is a similar view of the stop bfacket for the movable member of the switch; Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail cross sectional view of the movable member'of the switch illustrating two of the contact terminals of one of the circuits closed by the switch.

My im roved switch comprises. a supporting rame 1 which is preferably of rectangular shape and ofsuitable size, said frame having on one end an offset bracket plate 2 having a notch 3 adapted to receive a screw or other fastening device whereby the frame may be secured to a suitable suport.

p Secured in the frame 1 adjacent to one side thereof is an electro-magnet 4 above which and secured to the rear side of the fully described.

frame is-a bracket 5 carrying the stationary terminal holding member-6 of the switch. Said member comprises an inner block or strip 7 of suitable non-conducting or insulating material to which are secured pairs of spring metal terminal plates 8, one above the other on opposite sides of the block 7 and held in position by upper and lower clamping plates 9 and 10 between which and the terminals 8 are arranged strips 11 of suitable non-conducting or insulating materiaL The clamping plates 9 and 10 and the strips 11 are .fastened to the block 7 and the terminals 8 held in position by means of clamping screws 12 which are engaged with these parts as clearly shown in Fi 1 of the drawing. The inner ends of eac pair of terminals project a suitable distance beyond the inner edge of the block 7 and form spring contact fingers the extremities of which are bent inwardly and thence outwardly whereby the movable circuit closers of the switch may be readily engaged therewith as will be hereinafter more The opposite ends of the terminals project a short distance beyond the outer edge of the block 7 and have socured thereto the wires of the circuit to be closed by these members.

Pivotally mounted in the frame 1 is a combined armature and supporting plate 13 for the circuit closers of the switch. The main portion of the plate 13 forms an armature'14 which is disposed opposite to and is adapted to be attracted by the magnet 4 when the latter is energized. The plate 13 is provided on its lower portionand at its opposite ends with right angularly formed right-angular bearing lugs 15 having therein tapered recesses 16 with which are adapted to be engaged the pointed inner ends of pivot screws 17 arranged in the opposite sides of the frame, and locking nuts 18 hold the screws in their adjusted positions.

The plate 13 is provided .on its ends with upwardly extending arms 19 on the upper ends of which are right angular outwardly extending lugs 20 to which are secured a block 21 of suitable non-conducting .or insulating material carrying the movable circuit closing members of the switch. These are in the form of metal plates 22 which are arranged in pairs one above the other on the block 21 and opposite to the stationary terminals 8.with which they are adapted to be engaged. The plates 22 have their inner ends bent inwardly but separated by a reduced inwardly extending portion 23 of the insulating block 21 whereby said inwardly bent ends of the plates are insulated from each other. The ,main portions of the plates 22 are secured to the block 21 by clamping plates 24 and screws 25 in the same manner as the terminals 8, and said lates have their outer ends projecting beyon the outer edge of the insulating block 21 and have secured frame 1 as shown. The screw 28 is adapted to be adjustedin the lug 29 to limit the outward swinging movement of the plate 13. When the magnet is denergized this plate is automatically swung back to an inoperative position by a torsional spring 31 which is arranged in the frame 1 and has one end engaged with and secured-to a right angu-- larly formed lug 32 on the plate 13. The opposite end of the spring 31 is connected with the stem or pin 33 of an adjusting device which passes loosely through a slot in one end of the frame and is provided with a flat triangular head 34, the parts being of such construction that the head cannot rotate within the slot but the stem may, and

, hence the device may be drawn outward a trifle and turned to adjust the spring.

By constructing my improved switch as herein shown and described it will be seen that any number of circuit closing members may be secured to the stationary and movable members of the switch, and will simul-' taneously close the various circuits connected therewith when the magnet 4 is energized to attract the armature plate 13 which will swing the movable member into position for .engaging the plates 22 with the terminals 8.

When the magnet is deenergized the circuits will be broken by the action of the spring 31 which will swing the armature plate and the parts carried thereby in a reverse direction.

While the switch has been herein shown and described as being automatically closed and opened by the magnetqt and the spring 31 it is obvious that the switch may be manually operated by raising and'lowering the arm 26 to bring the circuit closing members into and out of engagement. i

From the foregoing description taken, in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In an electric switch, the combination with a pair of elements adapted to bebrought into contact, a frame supporting one of said elements and having a slot in one end, and an electro-magnet within said frame; of an armature pivoted in the'frame and having arms supporting the Other of said elements, a lug projecting from the armature substantially on a line between its pivots, a pin rotatably mounted through said slot in-the frame and having a triangular head, and a spring connecting the pin with said lug, for the purpose set forth.

2. In an electric switch, the combination with apair of spaced terminals having projecting inner ends, a pair of spaced plates having projecting inner ends adapted to pass between the inner ends of'saidterminals, a frame, a bracket therein rigidly supporting said terminals, and an electro-magnet within said frame; of an armature pivoted at its lower end within the frame and having upstanding arms with lugs at their upper ends, insulated connections between said lugs and plates, a spring connecting said armature and frame and drawing the former normally away from said electromagnet, said frame having a'recess in its nesses.

GEORGE L. HUGHES. Witnesses:

EUGENE O. CONNELL, WILLIAM E. MYERS. 

